Administration of Hazrat

Abu Bakar RA:

1. Introduction:

 As Caliph, Abu Bakr was the Head of the Government of the Islamic State.
Abu Bakr held Government to be a sacred trust, and he ran Government
as if he were administering the affairs of a trust.

 To Abu Bakr, the office of the Caliph was not a means of earthly glory; he
regarded it as a burden that he had to discharge in the interest of Islam.
 Hazrat Abu Bakar RA said : "O ye men, now do I long that some one else
may take the burden of the State on his shoulders. If you expect from me
that I should come up to the standard set by the Holy Prophet, then you
must know that I cannot fulfil your expectations because he was immune
from all sins and had the assistance of divine revelations while I am an
ordinary man subject to human fallibility.“
2. Administration of Hazrat Abu Bakar
RA:
 i. Character of Polity (A process of civil govt.):

Abu Bakr took pains to impress upon the people that he was only the first among
the equals. For him, all men, rich or poor, high or low were equal.

His rule was the rule of the law, but the law that he had to administer was not man
made law: it was divine law. There is no priesthood in Islam, and as such the
caliphate was not a theocracy.

As all power lay with the people, the political order was democratic in character,
but the democracy was not like the democracy we know today. In the polity that
Abu Bakr administered the will of the people was paramount, but it was subject to
divine will.
 As such the polity was neither theocracy nor democracy in the sense in
which the West understands these terms. It was democracy under the
umbrella of divinity, the vicegerency of the people organized to carry into
effect the will of God as embodied in Islam.
 Ii. Constitutional ruler:

Abu Bakr was a constitutional ruler as his rule was subject to constitution. But
the constitution in this case was not man made; it was divine.

As a ruler; Abu Bakr had to discharge a three-fold responsibility. He was

responsible to God, and it was his responsibility to enforce the commandments
of God as contained in the Holy Quran. He was responsible to the Holy
Prophet, and it was his endeavor to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet,
and prove himself to be a true representative of the Holy Prophet.
 Iii. Advisory Council:

The Caliph was aided by an Advisory Council. It comprised all companions.

There was, however, nothing hard and fast about the Advisory Council. Its
constitution, its conduct of business were all informal.

All decisions were arrived at through the process of consensus. There was no
monopoly about the Advisory Council. Even an ordinary Muslim could express
his views and render advice. It was open to the Caliph to accept or not to
accept the advice offered to him, but whenever Abu Bakr did not accept the
advice tendered to him, he advanced reason therefore.
 Iv. Secretariat: Concept of cabinet.

The Government of Abu Bakr carried correspondence (accord). Ali, Usman,

and Zaid b Thabit acted as Secretaries. There was, however, no elaborate
Secretariat.

All Government business was conducted in the main mosque at Madina.

There were no elaborate departments for the conduct of Government
business. There was however division of functions among the Companions,
and each Companion was responsible for specified functions. Umar acted as
a Minister to the Caliph, and was in charge of judicial administration. Abu
Ubaida Jarrah was in charge of the financial administration.
 V. Caliphal duties:

As Caliph, Abu Bakr did not live in any palace. He lived in an ordinary house as
a commoner. He was accessible to every person. If any person had any
grievance, he could place it before the Caliph without any difficulty or
formality.

Abu Bakr always took prompt steps to redress the grievances of the people.
Abu Bakr personally led the prayers. He reviewed the problems every week in
the Friday Khutba and took the people in confidence in formulating his
policies.
 Vi. Local administration:

For the purpose of local administration, the country was divided into provinces
each under a Governor.

Arabia proper was divided into ten provinces, namely, Madina, Makkah, Taif,
San'a, Hadramawt, Khaulan, Zubaid, Jund, Bahrain, and Najran. Iraq was
divided into three provinces, namely: Hirah, Dumatul Jandal, and Muzainah.
Syria was divided into four provinces: Hims, Damascus, Jordan and Palestine.
 Vii. Duties of Governor:

The Governor was required to lead prayers. He superintended the army;

collected taxes; administered justice; maintained law and order; supervised
public morals; and provided social services. He was aided by an Amil who
collected revenues, and a Qadi who administered justice.
3. Conclusion: